Accessories with protrusions allowing for the attachment of washers or similar charms with center holes

ABSTRACT

A band permits washers or charms with center holes to be easily snapped on and exchanged, allowing them to be worn and used for adornment and decoration. The bands can be made out of a mold or can have the protrusions attached in a later stage of the production process. The band can be decorated by the washers or charms and can be held in place by the knob-like protrusions that fit through the center hole in the charm or washer. The charm or washer should fit tightly enough to not slip off easily, and not move around. The protrusion can have a cap-like design that is larger than the stem/post which can keep the charm or washer from falling off. The cap cannot be too big, however, as to cover the design of the charm or washer.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional patentapplication No. 61/913,243, filed Dec. 6, 2013, the contents of whichare herein incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to customizable jewelry and customizableaccessories and, more particularly, to accessories or jewelry havingprotrusions that allow for the attachment of washers or similar charmshaving centered holes.

Washers and other similar charms can be used to decorate jewelry andother accessory items, but they do not easily attach to these items. Nocurrent accessory allows for easy popping on and off of washers orcharms with center holes.

As can be seen, there is a need for accessory items and jewelry thatallows for connection and removal of washers and charms with centerholes as well as providing a front face of the charm or washer to befacing outward at all times.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect of the present invention, an ornamentation and attachmentsystem comprises a washer or charm having a central hole; an item to bedecorated having at least one post base operable to fit into the centralhole; and a retention mechanism operable to prevent inadvertent removalof the washer or charm from the post base.

In another aspect of the present invention, an ornamentation andattachment system comprises a washer or charm having a central hole; anelongated band having a plurality of post bases disposed along a lengthof the band and operable to fit into the central hole; and a retentionmechanism, associated with each of the post bases, operable to preventinadvertent removal of the washer or charm from the post base.

In a further aspect of the present invention, an ornamentation andattachment system comprises a washer or charm having a central hole; anelongated band having a plurality of post bases disposed along a lengthof the band and operable to fit into the central hole; one or more bandholes disposed at one end of the band; and a retention mechanism,associated with each of the post bases, operable to prevent inadvertentremoval of the washer or charm from the post base, wherein the pluralityof post bases and the band holes are disposed linearly along the band.

These and other features, aspects and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with reference to the followingdrawings, description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a band having posts for attachingwashers or charms with center holes, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the band of FIG. 1 in a straight,unlooped configuration;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a mobile electronic device caseaccessory having posts for attaching washers or charms with centerholes, according to another exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing an extender usable withthe band of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating the use of the extender ofFIG. 7 with the band of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a top view illustrating two of the bands of FIG. 1 linkedtogether to form a pivoting configuration;

FIG. 10 is a top view illustrating two of the bands of FIG. 1 linked ina straight, non-pivoting configuration;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the band of FIG. 1, illustrating aconfiguration where the band is folded upon itself;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the band of FIG. 11, fully folded andlinked onto itself;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the band of FIG. 12, where the loopthat is formed may be used to hold objects, such as keys; and

FIG. 14 is a top view of a game board usable for holding the washers orcharms, playing games thereupon, or the like.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The following detailed description is of the best currently contemplatedmodes of carrying out exemplary embodiments of the invention. Thedescription is not to be taken in a limiting sense, but is made merelyfor the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the invention,since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Broadly, an embodiment of the present invention provides a proper basefor washers or charms with center holes to be easily snapped on andexchanged, allowing them to be worn and used for adornment anddecoration. The accessories can be made out of a mold or can have theprotrusions attached in a later stage of the production process. Theaccessory can be decorated by the washers or charms and can be held inplace by the knob-like protrusions that fit through the center hole inthe charm or washer. The charm or washer should fit tightly enough tonot slip off easily, and not move around. The protrusion can have acap-like design that is larger than the stem/post which can keep thecharm or washer from falling off. The cap cannot be too big, however, asto cover the design of the charm or washer.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 through 4, a band 10 can include a plurality ofmushroom post tops 12 attached to the band 10 via post bases 14. In someembodiments, the mushroom post tops 12 and post bases 14 can be disposedalong some or all of the band 10 and may be equally or unequally spacedapart.

In some embodiments, band holes 16 can be disposed in one end of theband 10 to allow the band to form a loop, as shown in FIG. 1. While twoband holes 16 are shown, one or more band holes 16 may be disposed onone end of the band 10.

A washer or charm 18 with a center hole 20 can be press fitted over themushroom post top 12 and be supported by the post bases 14. The washeror charm 18 can be removed by using an appropriate amount of force topull the washer or charm 18 over the mushroom post top 12 and off fromthe post base 14. This permits the band 10 to display various designs,depending on the selected washers or charms 18 placed thereupon.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, an extension 28 caninclude a band hole 16 and at least one mushroom post top 12 and postbase 14. The band hole 16 of the extension 28 can fit onto a mushroompost top 12 and post base 14 of the band 10 to extend the lengththereof. The extension 28 can be formed in various lengths and multipleextensions can be added to the band as needed. In some embodiments, theextension 28 can be used to interchange washers or charms 18 on the bandwithout having to remove them from their post base 14. In other words, auser can have multiple extensions 28 and simply add or exchangeextensions 28 to change the design and the washer or charm 18.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, two of the bands 10 maybe linked together by securing the band hole 16 of one band 10 over thepost tops 12 of another band 10. As shown in FIG. 9, a pivotingconnection may be formed by joining one of the band holes 16 of one band10 with one of the post tops 12 of the other band 10. As shown in FIG.10, a non-pivoting connection may be formed by joining two (or more, ifpresent and desired) of the band holes 16 of one band 10 with two (ormore, if present and desired) of the post tops 12 of the other band 10.This allows a user to build bracelets, necklaces, belts and other suchaccessories with the band 10.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 11 through 13, the band 10 may belooped on itself to form a loop 32 by connecting the band holes 16 withpost tops 12 of the same band 10. The size of the loop 32 may beadjusted, as desired, by choosing the appropriate post tops 12. Anobject, such as a key ring 34, may be disposed in the loop 32 prior toclosing the loop, there by securing the object within the loop 32.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, instead of a mushroompost top 12, a flat post top 22 can be used. Similar to the embodimentdescribed above, the flat post top 22 can be disposed at the end of thepost base 14 to provide a retention mechanism to secure the washer orcharm 18 on the post base 14.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the attachment and ornamentationsystem of the present invention can be used on various other items inaddition to the band 10. For example, a case 24 for a mobile electronicdevice, such as a mobile phone 26, can include one or more post bases 14and retention mechanisms (such as the flat post tops 22 or the mushroompost tops 12). This design can allow a user to interchange variouswashers or charms 18 onto the case 24 to suits ones aesthetic desire.

In some embodiments, as shown in FIG. 9, a perforation 30 or othersimilar band shortening location, can be disposed in the band 10 toallow a user to easily reduce its overall length. This can allow asingle band 10 to be wearable by an adult, teen, or child, for example,by simply separating the band at the desired perforation 30. While FIG.9 shows the perforation 30 on the front of the band, in someembodiments, the perforation 30 may be visible only on a back side ofthe band.

Referring now to FIG. 14, a game board 38 may be formed by extending aplurality of post tops 12 from a substantially flat board surface 36.The post tops 12 can take various configurations, as described above.The game board 38 may be used for playing various games as well as forsecurely storing the washers or charms 18. When playing a game on thegame board 38, the game pieces (the washers or charms 18) do not falloff, making the game board 38 convenient for travel and the like. Thegame board 38 can be made in various sizes and can have variousdimensions. Typically the post tops 12 are spaced apart to permit thewashers or charms 18 to be placed thereupon without overlapping anadjacent one of the washers or charms 18. The game board 38 may includemarkings, such as a dashed line 40, to show various board sizes forplaying games. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the game board 38 caninclude markings for a 3×3 board (for playing games, such astic-tac-toe), for a 8×8 board (for playing games, such as chess orcheckers), for a 9×9 board (for playing games, such as Go), and thelike.

While the Figures show the attachment and ornamentation system of thepresent invention used on phone cases and bands, other items can bedecorated in a similar manner and are contemplated within the scope ofthe present invention.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing relates toexemplary embodiments of the invention and that modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as setforth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ornamentation and attachment systemcomprising: a washer or charm having a central hole; an item to bedecorated having at least one post base operable to fit into the centralhole; and a retention mechanism operable to prevent inadvertent removalof the washer or charm from the post base.
 2. The ornamentation andattachment system of claim 1, wherein the retention mechanism includes apost top having a diameter larger than that of the post base.
 3. Theornamentation and attachment system of claim 1, wherein the item to bedecorated is a band.
 4. The ornamentation and attachment system of claim3, wherein the band includes a plurality of retention mechanismsdisposed in a line along a length of the band.
 5. The ornamentation andattachment system of claim 4, further comprising one or more band holesdisposed at one end of the band.
 6. The ornamentation and attachmentsystem of claim 1, wherein the retention mechanism includes a pluralityof the retention mechanisms disposed along a length of the item to bedecorated.
 7. The ornamentation and attachment system of claim 1,wherein the item to be decorated is a game board having a plurality ofthe retention mechanisms disposed thereupon in a predetermined pattern.8. An ornamentation and attachment system comprising: a washer or charmhaving a central hole; an elongated band having a plurality of postbases disposed along a length of the band and operable to fit into thecentral hole; and a retention mechanism, associated with each of thepost bases, operable to prevent inadvertent removal of the washer orcharm from the post base.
 9. The ornamentation and attachment system ofclaim 8, wherein the retention mechanism include a post top having adiameter larger than that of the post base.
 10. The ornamentation andattachment system of claim 8, further comprising one or more band holesdisposed at one end of the band.
 11. The ornamentation and attachmentsystem of claim 10, wherein the plurality of post bases and the bandholes are disposed linearly along the band.
 12. The ornamentation andattachment system of claim 8, wherein the retention mechanism includes aplurality of the retention mechanisms equally spaced apart along alength of the band.
 13. An ornamentation and attachment systemcomprising: a washer or charm having a central hole; an elongated bandhaving a plurality of post bases disposed along a length of the band andoperable to fit into the central hole; one or more band holes disposedat one end of the band; and a retention mechanism, associated with eachof the post bases, operable to prevent inadvertent removal of the washeror charm from the post base, wherein the plurality of post bases and theband holes are disposed linearly along the band.
 14. The ornamentationand attachment system of claim 13, wherein the retention mechanisminclude a post top having a diameter larger than that of the post base.15. The ornamentation and attachment system of claim 13, wherein theretention mechanism includes a plurality of the retention mechanismsequally spaced apart along a length of the band.